President Donald Trump called Elon Musk on Wednesday to request that he lift restrictions on military-grade Starlink satellite services in Ukraine after the SpaceX founder allegedly ordered a slowdown that hampered Ukrainian defenses against Russian attacks, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing U.S. officials.

The satellite network was operating closer to normal speeds Thursday following the conversation, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials, although some Ukrainian officials said full functionality had not been restored.

Trump reportedly expressed frustration that the system remained subject to a speed cap of approximately 100 mph, preventing some Ukrainian offensive drones and missile interceptors from maintaining connectivity during operations.

The president had told aides and allies throughout the week that he wanted the restrictions reversed, according to the Journal, which previously reported that Musk ordered the slowdown.

Questions remain about whether Musk acted independently or at the direction of the Trump administration.

“Removal of the throttle limit will do much to enable Ukraine’s strike capabilities at operational depths and its current effort to scale up deployment of jet-powered interceptors,” Michael Kofman, a military analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the Journal.

Kofman said preliminary testing by Ukrainian military units suggested the system was functioning more reliably.

The restrictions sparked criticism from lawmakers in both parties and raised questions about SpaceX’s authority over communications systems critical to Ukraine’s military operations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously characterized the slowdown as a commercial decision governed by SpaceX’s contractual terms rather than a White House directive.

“The bottom line is that that is governed by a private commercial contract as to how their stuff can be used and what speeds they’ll allow it to be used at,” Rubio told reporters Wednesday.

“There are terms of service that ultimately need to be complied to, and that’s where Starlink has the option to make those decisions,” Hegseth said earlier this week.

Vice President JD Vance defended Musk on Thursday, telling reporters, “It’s completely understandable that he doesn’t want to get in the middle of a war without the U.S. government effectively directing him on what to do.”

“I don’t think this is about Elon. I think it’s fundamentally about what America’s policy in Ukraine and Russia is going to be,” Vance added.

Trump has repeatedly denied ordering the restrictions or knowing who authorized them.

“I don’t know who did it, but I was not involved,” Trump told reporters Wednesday.

The controversy followed tensions between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil refineries, which Trump has criticized amid elevated U.S. energy prices.

Congressional Republicans and Democrats have demanded answers about the disruption, with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., questioning whether Musk had the legal authority to restrict the military-grade Starshield system.

“This is a very, very serious matter. It cannot be glossed over,” Fitzpatrick told CNN Tuesday.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., announced an investigation Thursday into the degradation of Starlink services without advance notice and the Pentagon’s reliance on SpaceX for critical satellite communications.

The reported restoration came as Russia launched another major overnight attack against Kyiv, despite Moscow having agreed to participate in trilateral peace discussions with Washington and Ukraine.